Jason Carter.Photo:Brynn Anderson/POOL/AFP/Getty
Brynn Anderson/POOL/AFP/Getty
WhileRosalynn Carterwas many things — a former first lady and lauded mental health advocate among them — toJason Carter, she was first and foremost a grandmother. And a cool one, at that.
“She was my grandmother first,” said Jason, the son of Jack Carter and Judy Langford, in remarks delivered at Tuesday’s tribute ceremony for Rosalynn.
He continued: “And she was like everybody else’s grandmother in a lot of ways. Almost all of her recipes call for mayonnaise, for example. We all got cards from her on our birthdays with a $20 bill in it.”
Jason Carter.Brynn Anderson/POOL/AFP/Getty
Jason, who currently chairs the Carter Center, used his time to reminisce about sweet moments that illustrate how humble Rosalynn was, such as the time when the family was on a flight and sitting in the back of the airplane.
“The plane took off and we looked over and my grandmother took out this Tupperware of pimiento cheese and this loaf of bread and she just started making sandwiches," he recalled. “She gave them to all of us grandkids and then she started giving them to other people on the plane.”
He continued: “And people were just sitting there like, ‘Rosalynn Carter just made me this sandwich!’ You know? They couldn’t believe it. But she loved people.”
Rosalynn Carter and her grandson Jason Carter at the 2019 Rosalynn Carter Georgia Mental Health Forum.Michael Schwarz, The Carter Center
Michael Schwarz, The Carter Center
More than anything, Jason said, Rosalynn was “a cool grandma.” So cool, in fact, that she wasn’t afraid to engage in physical activities that veered into the dangerous.
“She was cool, like she did tai chi with a sword,” Jason said, to laughs from the attendees, adding: “She was so down to earth, y’all, it was amazing.”
Jason Carter.Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/POOL/AFP/Getty
Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/POOL/AFP/Getty
Rosalynn was diagnosed withdementiain May, andentered hospice carejust two days before her death on Nov. 19at age 96.
In addition to sharing readings and fond memories during the service, the couple’s grandchildren served as honorary pallbearers.
Rosalynn Carter’s casket.ERIK S. LESSER/POOL/AFP via Getty Images
ERIK S. LESSER/POOL/AFP via Getty Images
Speaking to PEOPLE in September, Jason admitted that2023 had been challengingas both Jimmy and Rosalynn navigated health issues, but also “a real blessing” for the family, “because it’s given us this ability to reflect on our personal relationships and experience the outpouring from around the world for [Jimmy] and for [Rosalynn] and for them as a couple.”
Jason added that, despite their declining health, Rosalynn and Jimmy’s love for one another had not faded throughout the year. “They are definitely still there for each other,” he said in the September interview. “They are in love at home together and at peace with whatever comes. … That love story that really defines their life continues to define it.”
source: people.com
